Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Position in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking increased its Pfizer stake by 10.2% in the second quarter, adding 289,590 shares to own 3.14 million shares worth approximately $75.5 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 68.36% of Pfizer.
• Analysts remain broadly cautious, with Pfizer receiving a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $28.28. Recent ratings ranged from “Strong Buy” to “Sell,” reflecting uncertainty around the company’s growth outlook.
• Pfizer reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $0.77 and revenue of $15.03 billion, exceeding expectations, while maintaining a $0.43 quarterly dividend equivalent to a 6.2% annual yield. Investors continue to weigh the dividend and potential growth from oncology and obesity treatments against patent-expiration and litigation risks.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 10.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,137,191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 289,590 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.06% of Pfizer worth $75,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,346,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,479,520,000 after purchasing an additional 7,031,162 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Pfizer by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 300,445,164 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,481,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,756 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 130,192,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,235,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,728 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after buying an additional 14,342,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,830,986,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Pfizer from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pfizer from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.28.

Key Stories Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer shares benefited from renewed enthusiasm for cancer vaccines after Merck and Moderna reported positive melanoma-trial results for their personalized mRNA vaccine and Keytruda combination. The news has encouraged investors to reassess Pfizer’s own cancer-vaccine ambitions and broader mRNA exposure. Pfizer Stock Rises Wednesday: What's Going On?
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer’s obesity strategy remains a potential long-term catalyst. Investors are watching berobenatide, a possible monthly treatment intended to compete with leading GLP-1 drugs and help diversify revenue beyond legacy products. Pfizer's Obesity Push
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer’s high dividend yield and recent share performance are attracting income-oriented investors. Recent filings also indicate substantial hedge-fund buying, while unusually heavy call-option activity points to improving speculative sentiment. Yield Hunters and Hedge-Fund Buying
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer completed a real-world study evaluating Ibrance in advanced breast cancer. The study’s completion could provide useful evidence for the product, but investors are awaiting the data and any commercial implications. Pfizer's Ibrance Study Update
• Negative Sentiment: Pfizer is settling thousands of Depo-Provera lawsuits alleging a link to intracranial meningiomas. While a settlement program may reduce litigation uncertainty, it also highlights potentially significant financial exposure and keeps legal risk overhanging the stock. Why Is Pfizer Settling Thousands of Legal Claims?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on Pfizer’s patent cliff. New and acquired medicines may replace much of the revenue lost as older patents expire, but the transition leaves limited room for execution errors and raises concerns about longer-term growth. Pfizer Stock Is a Race Between New Drugs and Old Patents
• Negative Sentiment: Merck’s deeper investment in personalized cancer vaccines raises the competitive bar for Pfizer and could make it harder for Pfizer to establish a leading position in this emerging market. Merck Raises the Stakes for Pfizer's Cancer Vaccine Ambitions

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $27.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $158.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.62 and a beta of 0.34. The business's 50 day moving average is $25.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $28.75.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.80%.The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 226.32%.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc NYSE: PFE is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer's portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.

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